Home Farmer Entitled to First Place

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 7277, 3 October 1933, Page 7

Home Farmer Entitled to First Place

. Dairy Produce Market in Britain

ARGUMENTS FOR CHEESE QUOTA Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Last Night. Advice to New Zealand farmers that they would bo doing the best for themselves by co-operating with the Old Country in her endeavour to raise the wholesale prices of primary products to a remunerative level, rather than worrying about the quantity of produce the Dominion would bo able to send Homo in five years’ time, was given by Mr. Thomas Baxter, representative of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, on the eve of his departure overseas. Mr. Baxter said he felt sure that after encouraging Homo producers, the Old Country would provide as expanding a market as possible for all the Dominions.

Mr. Baxter said his question to those farmers in New Zealand who appeared to demur to the quota proposals was: How could they carry out their acknowledgment, agreed to by their representatives at Ottawa, that the Home producer was entitled to first place in his own market if their action ruined that market?

Discussing the milk marketing scheme for England and Wales, which comes into operation on January 1, Mr. Baxter said the board would sell all the milk it could for liquid distribution at as high a price as the consumer would be willing to pay, and tho rest would go into some form of manufactured dairy produce at a much lower figure. The money received from all sales would be pooled and all producers would receive the same net Tcturn. "Now, if the butter market has to rip, wo cannot sit quietly and see the cheese market do likewise. We must have an outlet for our surplus milk into some decent-priced market, and that is why wo ask you to limit your output of cheese by what I beliovo need only be a small percentage, while the market remains in a glutted state. If you fail to find an alternative market, which I personally don’t regard as impossible, you can still convert into butter and send it to us." The prosperity of New Zealand depended on a prosperous foreign trade of the United Kingdom, said Mr. Baxter. The Home Government could not be expected to cut its foreign trade to Tibbons to make room for unlimited supplies from the Dominions. New Zealand was a splendid customer ,but had not sufficient purchasing power to compensate for the serious loss of foreign trade. "There is no question of going back on Ottawa, but we want you to cooperate with the Old Country in her endeavour to raise the wholesale prices of her primary products to all her supplying farmers. "I have had an opportunity, during my short stay, of seeing a good deal of your beautiful country. I recogniso that your future lies in tho direction of pastoral pursuits, and I am quite prepared, providing a co-operative spirit prevails between the farmers here and tho farmers at. Home, to use such influence as the National Farmers’ Union possesses with the Government, to give New Zealand as prominent a place in tho sun as possible when dealing with quotas." Mr. Baxter leaves by the M'akura tomorrow for England, via America.

Cabinet and Board Confer

WELLINGTON, Oct. 2,

Dairy Board members bad an interview with Cabinet to-day. Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates stated that the board undertook to submit a written memorandum to the Government, giving the views of the dairy industry on quotas. He could not give any indication of the trend of the discussions and there would be no policy statement in the meantime. Mr. Thomas Baxter's views would also have to bo considered.